On Sheldon Brown

Maybe I’m ignoring the obvious with this post, I don’t pretend to be any kind of football expert…….

Obviously at the end of the season Brown wasn’t playing up to his usual level, most likely due to the injury. I question if Brown really became a ‘gambler’ or if we are just looking at a few plays, his high interceptions, and assuming that he must have changed his style. Honeslty, I rarely get more than a general impression of how most players did in a game (obviously there’s the QB and other exceptions). Its hard to make fair evaluations after one emotional viewing of a live game, obviusly some people can do it better than others.

Brown had an excellent year last year, giving up just the Fitzgerald TD in the title game. It definitly wouldn’t have been fair to expect the same kind of year. I just question the idea that Brown really did start to gamble (significantly more) this year, or if he became less physical. I’m not saying its not true, I’m just skeptical. I’d definitly be interested in hearing what someone who really watched Sheldon might think. I’m not looking for stats, but someone who watched and compared his actual play these two years and can say “Yeah he really did become a gambler this year”

http://profootballfocus.com/by_player.php?tab=by_player&season=2009&surn=Brown&playerid=1066&group=6

With the exception of the gruesome twosome in Dallas, where the injury may have still had its toll, the PFF guys think he had a pretty good year.

brown is good, much better than asante….. asante has made it clear that he doesnt get paid to tackle he just loves thorwing his girlish figure at the receiver whether he conects or doesnt…. sheldon kinda fell apart a little towards the end of the year but he was battling w/ injuries…. he will be back this year ull see hes def the more reliable guy to shut down a receiver

Who is this “Sheldon Brown” you speak of, and why do you bring him up here at McNabbvsKolbNation.com?

Kidding aside, it is hard to judge when a player is going to start declining. IIRC, Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor were 33 and 31 when they were let go, and it was perfect timing (Troy had one decent season in Buffalo, and Bobby played just one more season). Once a CB loses even a 1/2 step, they are basically done at that position.

Sheldon was drafted as their replacement, so it is not a stretch to say the Eagles will draft a CB early. While it is possible Sheldon has a solid year or 3 left in the tank, I seriously doubt the Eagles would give him a new contract at this point. That, combined with the high probability that the Eagles draft a CB high, could mean Sheldon will be quite unhappy this summer. I wonder how he will handle it.

Regarding Brown picking up “bad habits” from Asante, I believe his injuries had more to do with his (at times) lackluster play than anything else. All in all, I thought Brown put in a gutsy performance this year.

Lastly, I think Asante is a bit overrated. He has a great anticipation, but he gambles a bit too much. Sure, he can get multiple picks jumping routes off of the Josh Johnsons and Jason Campbells of the world, but he is easily set up by more crafty, veteran QB’s. So the strongpoints of his game diminish quickly when facing a team with a good QB-WR combo.

for years Dawkins was the man in the secondary. i think that without a doubt Sbrown looked up to him. now that he is gone there isnt the physicality on defense. maybe having dawkins gone firing people up made a difference idk just throwing that out there

 no biggie

you have to wonder if it was schemed to allow asante and sheldon to do what they were doing. Beyond that… he wanted more ints and highlights to get more $$$

to him being injured.. Infact I think he only gave up like 3-4 TD’s which is still pretty good considering half the season he couldnt even run at full speed.